Star Trek Convention Pt2

The ugly and the bad …

Some of my favorite television shows are the Big Bang Theory, and well just about any science fiction show including, Firefly, Star Trek, Torchwood, and Warehouse 13, among others. On the other hand my lovely wife really enjoys reality shows including Fashion star, biggest loser, and project runway. Trying to define bad and ugly in regards to a Star Trek convention would be just as fruitless as having the Project Runway judges evaluate the fashion sense of the characters on the Big Bang Theory.

Sure there were ugly people at the convention, and others were way too fat to wear the costumes of the characters they were trying to portray. But who am I to judge? They went through the effort to cram their bulk into a costume of their own making while I simply showed up. So all in all the ugly can be easily tolerated and even admired. The Star Trek universe is quite enthusiastic about embracing diverse cultures and this was evident in the wildly diverse convention attendants. I did have a few ideas for cross pollinating these themes. How about a Star Trek fan themed Biggest Looser? And from what I saw in Las Vegas, wouldn’t be hard to find contestants for the biggest looser. Or a Project Runway contest where the fashion designers would have to tackle a new star fleet uniform? I am sure that both shows would be a big hit.

As far as the bad is concerned I only have a few observations, and one suggestion.

There were a few actors who were very popular in STNG who, while on stage during a Q and A session, were not very interesting or entertaining. I won’t name names, but there were three actors from STNG who acted like they were on stage for a little family reunion. I am sure that it is fun for them to reminisce over old times, but the audience seemed to want to participate a little. It felt like we were intruding into a private moment with old friends. They traded inside jokes so much that it began to feel uncomfortable. My wife and I left. If I want to listen to self-absorbed wankers I will go wait in line at Starbucks.

During the convention, while my lovely wife and I were roaming around the sales area we noticed a lot of actors sitting at tables waiting to autograph their photos. The majority of these actors were, let’s just say, not as popular as they once were. It was so sad to see them sitting at a table waiting to autograph a photo that not only doesn’t resemble their current ‘condition’, but their role was so obscure that only a true die hard trivia master would place their face. I don’t begrudge anyone a chance to relive their fame, nor make a buck, but it was still kind of sad. I would have gone up and talked to them, but what would I say? , “Nice job on that episode you did in 1968; what are you doing now that you’re completely obscure and forgettable?” How do you start a conversation with an actor about something they did almost a half a century ago? However, I was a little disappointed that they were not included in the Q and A sessions. I am sure they have something to say, I just don’t know the right questions. Maybe someone does.

It was my lovely wife’s suggestion that maybe the obscure actors should have a seat on the big stage for some audience questions. I for one would love attend a Q and A session with some of the actors that only had one or two scenes and were suddenly killed off. Maybe even have a panel of redshirts that suffered violent deaths answering questions from the crowd.

I also think it would be kind of cool to have some of the staff that did the behind the scenes work, up on stage for some questions. I would think that the guys who opened and closed the doors on the old generation would have some great stories. I would also love to hear what they are up too now. I would like to think that a few of these people moved on to great careers and look back at their untimely deaths the same way I look back to the time I had to work the morning shift at a Pizza place rolling dough and mixing sauce.